Inopportune Moments
by HotaruGFC
Summary: Inspired by the 3rd popularity poll artwork, Yami and Charlotte meet at a ball hosted by the King right after the elven resurrection is dealt with. With Julius dead, Yami is trying to hide his own grief. (canon-divergent post ch 214)


The ballroom had a festive atmosphere, but Yami didn't feel much like celebrating. He watched from the sidelines as the members of his squad took to the dance floor. He pulled at the tight collar, grimacing at the restrictive jacket.

He hated dressing up, and even more, the stiff nature of the Clover Kingdom's formal dress. But the restriction felt appropriate tonight, a welcome distraction from the constriction in his heart. In the end, Yami did not feel such a celebration was appropriate given that Julius' body was lying in state and the whole kingdom was grieving.

A hush fell across the ballroom followed by murmurs of awe. The sound was enough to pull Yami out of his sour self-reflection for the moment. He followed the gazes of the rest of the gathered crowd to the top of the staircase. Charlotte stood there, a vision in blue. Her lackey, the woman to whom he had entrusted the protection of Julius' body, beamed by her side, but Charlotte seemed to shrink from the attention. Yami watched as she squared her shoulders and descended the staircase. She seemed to float in the poofy skirt of the dress and she looked stunningly beautiful.

But not as beautiful, he thought, as she had been on the battlefield, blood smearing her porcelain skin, her eyes searching for her next target.

Not as beautiful as she had been when she had first caught his eye.

At the bottom of the stairs, she disappeared into the crowd and Yami found his dark thoughts returning.

Charlotte wandered through the crowd, smiling and greeting the people who had been gathered together by the ball. Formal events had never been her favorite thing in the world, but she endured them because she must. She would much rather be spending the time in her garden with a nice warm cup of tea. She felt she would even prefer being back on the battlefield to being in the too bright, too loud, too crowded ballroom.

Sol clung to her, excitedly waving to friends in the crowd. She tugged on Charlotte's arm, trying to pull her toward the lively conversation happening on one side of the room.

"Go on ahead, Sol. I, um, I'm not... I'm going to get something to drink." Charlotte untangled her arm from Sol's grip. The tall woman started to protest, but then closed her mouth, nodded and let go of Charlotte's arm. Charlotte breathed a deep sigh of relief at being free of the boisterous young woman, though she had noted a distinct change in how Sol responded to her lately. She wondered if something had happened while she had been... the other woman. While she did not have a clear memory of everything which happened, she could only explain the change in behavior as a result of something which happened during that time.

She crossed the room to a table from which drinks were being served by a pair of young women. A crowd of people clustered at one end, making demands of one of the women for various alcoholic drinks, while the other stood lazily pouring drinks to the few people who approached her.

"Some water please," Charlotte asked, eyeing the crowd who seemed to shout for the other woman's attention. The lazy one of the pair poured the glass and placed it before Charlotte. "Thank you."

"Any time. At least it's something to do." The young woman glanced at her partner, who seemed a little older and more mature, now that Charlotte was able to get a closer look at them.

"Why are you not helping her?"

"I can't. They won't let me touch the alcohol after last time."

Charlotte opened her mouth to ask why when she heard a familiar chuckle, and her skin ran cold, which was not difficult given how much of it was exposed in the dress she wore.

"What is up with this outfit, Queen of Thorns?"

Only one person would ever call her that. Charlotte took a deep breath and a quick sip of her water before turning to his voice. The last time they had had a similar encounter, he had been wearing next to nothing. Charlotte prepared herself accordingly before she opened her eyes to see him.

"Hello, Yami." She opened her eyes, preparing a witty comeback, but what she saw made her mind run blank for a moment. "I... You..." She licked her lips, which had suddenly become parched. "I see you have dressed appropriately for once." She said when she had finally found her voice. She swallowed hard, feeling a sudden warmth to the air which had not been there before.

Yami shifted uncomfortably in the jacket which seemed to strain at the seams as he moved. He tugged at the collar of the shirt.

"Yeah, well. Julius always told me to do things my way, even if he always tried to encourage me to learn the proper way." He waved his hands dismissively at the term 'proper' before he shoved them into the pockets of the jacket like a young boy. Charlotte could not take her eyes from him as he rocked back on his heels.

"I figured, the least I could do was honor him now by doing things the way he always tried to get me to do them." Charlotte could barely hear his voice over the clamoring of the crowd looking for a drink, but she did see the dark cloud pass over his face for a moment. He brightened as he looked over at the table, but the effort looked forced to her.

"I was going to get a drink, but I don't want to fight the crowd."

"I'm guessing something non-alcoholic is out of the question?" Charlotte knew his reputation, for both using intimidation to get what he wanted, and for drinking. Seeing him hesitate to do both made her worry, though she did not know why.

He looked at the young woman who stared out into the crowd looking bored and shrugged.

"Why not?" He shrugged as he approached the table. Charlotte swallowed hard and turned away from him as he slid past her. She clutched her glass of water in both hands, sipping it as she told herself to stay calm repeatedly. Her voice was yammering in her head so loudly she did not hear him order his drink, nor did she notice him turning around to her again.

"You look nice, by the way." He said before slurping at the edge of the overly full glass to keep it from spilling.

Charlotte looked up at him in shock. She had never heard him pay anyone a straight compliment before. Anything nice that he said always had a jab hidden within it.

"But?" She asked in expectation of the insult she knew would follow. She sipped on her water and glanced at him over the rim of her glass. He took another sip and grimaced a bit.

"No 'But'."

"Oh." Charlotte stared into her glass. Yami stood next to her watching the crowd. She glanced up at him for a moment, trying to read him, to see if he was being truthful.

"Thank you," she said when her attention had returned to the translucent surface of the glass she held after finding no malice or guile in his words.

The music filling the air changed into something more lively and the commotion on the dancefloor as men and women paired off and lined up drew her attention. She knew the song, of course. Her parents had often had the musicians at their parties play the traditional melody. As a girl, Charlotte had been too young to attend, even if she had wanted. Fortunately, she had filled her time with her magical studies, so the pain of missing out on the parties was minor.

Still, the music had wafted up to her room and had filled her heart and mind with something more than just the curse she had vowed to break.

She hadn't realized she was humming along until she felt his eyes on her. She glanced at him only to quickly look away blushing.

"Don't stop." He sounded surprised with a touch of awe in his voice.

Charlotte closed her eyes and pressed her lips together as she took a deep breath. She silently begged the universe to make him turn away, to have something else draw his attention. Her heart raced as he continued staring.

"It sounded nice, is all."

Charlotte opened her eyes as he turned back to watching the crowd. She hazarded a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. He held his cup in one hand, sipping slowly on the drink within. His other hand he rubbed against his thigh before squeezing it into a fist and relaxing it several times. She turned her head toward him, looking at him more directly, but with one eye on the swirling colors on the dancefloor. She saw him shove his fist deep into his coat pocket and the telltale signs of someone chewing on their lip.

"Thanks."

"I bet you would rather be out there." He motioned to the dancefloor with his chin.

Charlotte blinked as she looked at him once, twice, before turning her gaze to the interplay of people, music, and color before them. She looked over at Yami and back to the dancefloor.

"Actually, I don't know. I mean, I don't know how to dance."

The shock evident on Yami's face when he looked at her surprised Charlotte.

"You're joking."

Charlotte shook her head.

"No, I, um, I never learned. I never had the time."

"How could you not learn? Especially this dance? Julius..." His voice cracked as he said the name. "Julius said everyone knew this dance, that it was a tradition. I mean, even my idiots know it."

Charlotte shrugged.

"I guess that's everyone except me." She crossed her arms over her chest and sipped her water. She felt extremely self-conscious all of a sudden.

Yami sighed next to her.

"You don't have to stay here, you know." She said after a long beat.

"I could teach you." He said simultaneously.

"What?" Shock resounded in her voice at the offer and her heartbeat quickened once more.

"Or, I could leave if that's what you want." His eyebrows were furrowed, creasing the middle of his face, though he seemed more confused than angry.

"You know this dance?" She asked in disbelief.

"Julius did say it was a tradition. He made me learn, even though I hated every minute of it and I'm not that good. And I'm bound to be a bit rusty since I haven't done it in a while."

"And you would be willing... to teach me?" Charlotte felt her stupefaction on her face, in how her eyebrows had shot upward.

Yami shrugged.

"Sure. Why not? I mean, you're already a born dancer, so it won't be that hard, I think." He continued staring at the crowd of swirling bodies. The lights from the room lit his profile in sharp angles and strange colors. Charlotte thought she saw a slight blush on his cheeks, but she could not be certain.

"What do you mean by that?" She chuckled as a way to ease her nervousness and release some of the energy her racing heart had built within her.

"How you dance across the battlefield? You have to have some natural rhythm to fight like you do, to move as you do."

She looked at the crowd and then back to him. Just how often had he watched her fight? How often had he watched her without her realizing it?"

She turned her attention to the dancers once more, but her mind was filled with questions to which there were no answers.

"So, do you want to learn or not?" Yami asked from her side, his eyes also fixed on the people dancing before them.

Did she? Charlotte felt her face grow warm at the thought of him teaching her. As it was, admitting a fault, even one as trivial as not knowing how to dance, made her feel weak. She looked at the crowd and then to his profile. If she were honest with herself, she had always wanted to learn. The music had always made her feel something she couldn't quite describe.

But the other question he had implied-did she want to learn from him, made her stomach flutter. She glanced over at the small knot of women from her squad who all seemed caught up in their discussion. None had seemed to notice her or her companion. She said a prayer for such small blessings.

Movement at her side drew her gaze.

Yami had lifted his hand, offering it to her, though his gaze had not left the swirling crowd. Charlotte looked at it a moment.

"Come on." He prodded, pushing the offer once more.

Charlotte placed her hand on top of his lightly and his fingers curled around it as he led her away from the table. He brought her to an open area at the edge of the dancefloor, where the crowd gave way to small tables set up for the attendees to use as a resting point or for them to place their drinks. Charlotte felt exposed in the small clearing of space like everyone could see and would watch the lesson. Her hand shook with fear. He squeezed it to stop the trembling, but as soon as the pressure was released, the trembling returned.

"You okay?"

"No." Her breath came fast as her heart pounded.

"We don't have to..."

Charlotte chuckled and shook her head. She looked up at him as the panic rose to a peak, but she had to, she wanted to, she needed to be honest with herself and with him.

"No, I want to learn. I'm just... I'm nervous."

"About dancing?" He placed his hand on her hip and shifted how he held her hand. Charlotte gasped, but managed to keep her eyes fixed on his.

"Yes, well, not dancing, per se, but..."

"You need to place your hand here." Yami took his hand from her hip and slid his fingers along her arm, drawing it upward until her hand rested on his shoulder. Charlotte squeaked as her hand landed on him, and once again as his hand gripped her waist again.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"No. I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Dancing. With you." The words sounded harsh as they left her mouth. She hadn't meant them to, but she did not know how else to speak to him. She wanted to tell him how she had dreamt of a night like this with him more times than she could count. She wanted to tell him how he had been her savior, her fantasy, her closest secret. But the words died in her throat as they competed with the thudding sound of her heart.

Yami smiled, chuckling.

"Is it such a chore?" He said lightly, teasingly as he pulled her from side to side in time with the music. "Besides, we aren't dancing yet. You have to move your feet for that."

He chuckled again.

"Right." Charlotte looked from his eyes to their clasped hands as she took a deep slow breath.

"And we'll start on your right. Just follow my feet. If I go forward, you step back. Alright?" He whispered just loud enough for her to hear the instructions. Charlotte nodded, and he started moving.

Back two steps, then forward three, and then... she froze, confused.

"Wait, you went to the side." She looked down at his feet.

"Then go to the side too. Follow me, don't watch my feet." He said with a laugh as he gripped her waist a little more tightly.

"How am I supposed to know where to go if I can't watch your feet?" She looked up at him in frustration. The smirk on his lips and the way he shrugged his shoulders only served to infuriate her more.

"You just move with the music, and you trust me." His voice oozed with his lackadaisical confidence. But then his smirk faded and his eyes lacked the certainty of a moment prior when he looked at her. "You do trust me?"

Charlotte stared at his honey brown eyes, seeing a glimmer of deeply felt pain hidden from view and vulnerability she had never imagined echoing the doubt in his question. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax into his touch.

"Yes; I trust you." The certainty with which she said the words surprised her, but she knew them to be true, completely, utterly. She had trusted him since he had stopped the curse from blossoming to fruition; she trusted him with her life. Once he had told her she needed to learn to rely on others. She knew as she looked into his eyes, he had topped the list of those she trusted with all her being, even if she refused to admit it.

He gave her a small nod and shifted his grip on her waist and her hand, loosening them slightly before he started moving to the music, guiding her in small steps around the open space they had commandeered. His eyes never left hers and she watched as the moment passed where she had seen deeper into him than she wagered he had ever shown anyone before. The confidence had fallen over his face like a mask once again as they spun and twirled together.

"See, I told you." He released her waist and raised his hand high, spinning in a circle her beneath his arm. "You are a natural." He twisted his arm and she spun in the opposite direction, twisting into him, her back against his chest. He grunted as her shoe landed on his foot.

"Sorry. Are you alright?" Charlotte's voice quivered as his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly against him. Yami must not have noticed as he bent down slightly to look at his foot.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He straightened. "You smell good."

A second compliment, also unfettered by the usual accompanying insult. Charlotte blushed.

"I'm not sure why I said that," Yami muttered as he released her waist and spun her back to face him. This time, Charlotte did not question her eyes when she saw the slight coloring of his cheeks. She felt a small smile creep onto her face and she had to look away from his eyes.

"You smell nice too." She said in a breathy whisper as she watched him shift the grip on her hand.

She wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to lay her head on his chest, to listen to his beating heart. Was it racing like hers? Was it as strong and steady as she imagined? When he took his step back, she took a step forward as he had coached her, but it was a step too far and it narrowed the distance between them. He inhaled sharply, but as he released the breath, his hand slid from her waist to the small of her back, accepting the closing of the gap.

The music changed and so did the pattern of steps he led her through, but she didn't notice as she only had room in her thoughts for his eyes, his touch.

She looked at him, willing him to close the distance further, to pull her to him or to lean in to kiss her. While she was no expert on the matter, the constant licking of his lips seemed to show his thoughts on the matter.

And yet he held back, hesitated.

"Is everything alright?" She slid her hand down the lapel of the coat until it rested on his chest. She picked at an invisible piece of imagined fuzz, embarrassed by the familiarity of the motion.

Yami stopped. He slid his hand from the small of her back and took both of her hands in his as he took a step back. He shook his head.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"No."

Charlotte's stomach clenched as her mind brought her to the only conclusion she could conjure; He did not feel comfortable with her, did not want her as she wanted him.

"I like dancing with you, Charlotte. I want to do it again. I just...umm." His face screwed up in a sort of pain.

The look on his face struck her to the core. She had never seen him look so hurt, so sad. She wondered how long he had held the feelings inside. Had he tried to ignore them? Or had they hit him suddenly?

Charlotte squeezed his hands and he squeezed hers back as he looked at the floor between them.

"You know, someone once told me that I didn't have to go through everything alone, that there were plenty of people I could rely on when I needed help."

A pained chuckled came from Yami and Charlotte could feel his hands shaking.

"Sounds like a pretty smart person."

"Yeah? Well, he's smarter than he looks, anyway." She took a half step toward him. Withdrawing one hand from his, she took the risk to place it on his cheek. "And he's a lot smarter than he lets on."

She forced his eyes to her. His eyes glistened with unshed tears he fought to keep from falling.

"Sometimes it's alright to rely on others, Yami. To trust others with what you're going through, with your pain."

"No fair spitting my own words back at me." He placed his hand over hers and leaned his cheek into it.

"This is about Julius, isn't it?"

He nodded and closed his eyes.

"You want to talk about it?" Something about the question made him tense up. His hand squeezed hers as he brought it from his cheek. "Not here, in private?" She suggested, amazed with the sense of calm which had washed over her.

"Not really."

"Not really you don't want to talk or not really you don't want to talk in private?"

His grip on her hand tightened and he tugged on her arm, drawing her after him, weaving them through the crowd which had gathered near the food tables. Sol caught her eye as she followed behind him through the mass of people. She could feel the young woman's gaze following her as they disappeared through a door and stepped out into the darkness of the night.

"I don't want to talk about it, especially not in there."

"The King's decision to hold this ball now was quite myopic and self-centered."

"The King is myopic and self-centered, what else did you expect?"

Yami leaned on the railing of the balcony and stared out into the night. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. The look on his face as he lit it and took a long inhale was euphoric, reminding Charlotte of how she felt at her first sip of tea in the mornings. She watched as he leaned on the railing looking out into the night.

"I can't believe he's gone." Yami took another long inhale on his cigarette and let his breath out slowly. "And I can't believe I'm so broken up about it."

"You were very close. Everyone knew you were one of his favorites." Charlotte joined him at the railing. The city sparkled in the darkness, with little bits of firelight shining like stars in the buildings below. In the dark, the damage did not seem as bad as she knew it was. Of course, people had been working constantly to rebuild, but still, the damage was immense.

Still, the view was beautiful, despite what she knew lay beneath it.

"Grief hits everyone." She whispered. "And we all have reason to grieve."

"And we all have a job to do. Grief only gets in the way."

She placed her hand on top of his, hoping to give him some sort of comfort. She expected him to pull it away, to retreat into himself once more. But he did not.

"It's not like I didn't expect this to happen sometime. I always thought I would be prepared for it. I mean, it is a hazard of the job, isn't it?" He took a deep breath, sucking in the last of his cigarette before stubbing it out on the railing and pitching what remained over the edge. He squeezed his eyes shut and Charlotte saw a single tear leave a glistening track down the side of his face.

"I didn't expect it to hurt so much." He turned his back against the railing and landed heavily on the ground next to her. He pulled one knee to his chest and propped his elbow against it as he rubbed his eyes.

Charlotte fiddled with her dress, trying to figure out how she could join him on the marble surface of the balcony. She picked up the floofy skirt and tossed it to the side as she knelt next to him. She hesitated a moment before placing her arm around his shoulders. She had never imagined the first hug they shared would be at a place and time like this, but Yami curled into her touch, rolling his head along her shoulder until his face buried into the curve of her neck. His hand slipped behind her back and encircled her waist. She wondered if he could hear the racing of her heart. The selfish thought fled her mind as she felt his tears racing down her collarbone and onto her chest. She ran a gentle hand through his hair, amazed at how soft and thick it was despite its usual unkemptness. His other arm wrapped her waist as well, his hand holding tightly to her back as she was some sort of life ring thrown to him as he was drowning.

"Shh..." she soothed into his ear. "It's alright." Her fingers slid through his hair slowly, steadily. Her heart cracked a little bit more with each sob induced trembling of his shoulders, with each tightening of his grip on her waist.

She said nothing else, for there was no more to be said as she let him cry until his breathing steadied and his body stopped shaking. Charlotte could not help the tears which fell from her eyes as she held him in his heartache. She closed her eyes and laid her head against his, ever running her fingers against his scalp through the soft strands of hair.

She had no idea how long they sat there before he lifted his head from her shoulder. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, but dry. He looked at her a long moment before he wiped his face with the back of his hand and straightened to sit next to her. He took a deep breath before fishing around his pocket for another cigarette.

"I'm sorry." He said as he placed the cigarette between his lips.

"For what?" She shifted to a better sitting position and smoothed the skirt of her dress over her legs.

"For breaking down like that." He lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply.

Charlotte chuckled in disbelief.

"Don't be. It was nice to see another side of you. One that isn't always mocking people, I mean." She leaned her back against the railing and looked toward the crowd of celebrants on the other side of the doors.

"Thank you." He looked down into his lap, his cigarette between two fingers resting on his thigh.

"You're welcome."

"You still want a dance lesson?"

"You still want to teach me?"

"Well, it's a sort of sin for someone as beautiful as you not knowing how to dance."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"Objectively speaking."

Charlotte knotted her hands into the fabric of her dress, twisting the royal blue material into her fists.

"And what about... subjectively?"

Charlotte stared down at the fabric, cursing herself for asking such a selfish question given his state of grief. She heard rustling and grunting as he stood up and leaned on the railing next to her.

"Well, I've seen you look prettier."

Her head spun to him so quickly she thought her neck had snapped.

"What do you mean?"

She looked up at him from the ground, but he stared into the brightly lit ballroom ahead.

"You are the most beautiful when you are your truest self, Charlotte. And this..." He waved his hand at her but did not look at her. "This is not your true self." He turned to face her and held out his hand. He beckoned to her with his outstretched fingers. Charlotte placed her hand in his, feeling how small it was as he wrapped his fingers around it and lifted. He pulled her to standing.

"While you are lovely like this, you are the most beautiful when you are cutting a swath of destruction through enemy lines, dancing your way through battle." His hand snaked around her waist and settled lightly at the small of her back. "When you fight, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

His eyes bore through her, unwavering as he said it. Charlotte gasped. Yami pulled her hand close to him and closing his eyes as he started to sway. Charlotte blushed as the motion drew her closer to him and her hand landed on his chest.

"What are you doing?" Her body swayed in time with his.

"Dancing."

"But there's no music."

"Who needs music to dance?"

"This is more like... swaying."

"Swaying then. But it feels nice."

Charlotte took a deep breath and let it go slowly. She let her hand slip to his waist and circle around, mimicking the grip he had on her waist. She shifted her feet closer. His arm tightened on her back. She pressed her ear to his chest, listening to his heart keeping time with each shifting of their weight. He leaned his cheek against her head. She closed her eyes, letting him guide her through the back and forth motion like they were at sea being lulled by gentle waves.

"Yeah. It does."


End file.
